Understanding Exposure (by Calvin)
A fellow G35 owner and photographer did an excellent write up on our forum and I thought to share this with the aspiring photographers, or people that just want to understand a little more about how their camera works (even in auto mode behind the scenes).. Understanding these simple rules will help you to get more consistent shots from your DSLR, or non-auto programmable modes on your point and shoot.. Thanks for this Calvin.. Great job..
Understanding Exposure (G35Driver Edition)
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I've seen quite a few new members in this section, so I figured I'd throw this together to help get people started.
Two Ways to Control Light (ignoring ISO for now)
1) The shutter controls the duration of the exposure. A fast shutter speed (1/250 of a second) allows less light to reach the sensor than a slow shutter speed (1/4 of a second). The decision to use a fast or slow shutter speed depends upon the subject matter (i.e. if you're trying to freeze motion, use a fast shutter speed).
It should be noted that your camera will often display shutter speeds as whole numbers, even though they represent fractions of a second. For example, if you're camera displays 250, it is actually 1/250 of a second.
2) The aperture controls the intensity of light reaching the sensor. A small aperture (f/22) allows less light to reach the sensor than a large aperture (f/2). The decision to use a small or large aperture depends on the available light for exposure and the decision to use a great or small depth of field.
Shutter Speeds (in whole stops)
1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 30 | 60 | 125 | 250 | 500 | 1000
slow shutter < more light fast shutter > less light
*Note: Cameras typically show shutter speeds in between full stops, too. For example, my camera has 640 and 800 between 500 and 1000.Aperture Values (in whole stops)
1.4 | 2 | 2.8 | 4 | 5.6 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 22
large aperture > more light
small aperture < less light
*Note: Cameras typically show aperture values in between full stops, too. For example, my camera has f/3.2 and f/3.5 between f/2.8 and f/4.Opening up & Stopping down
A stop is equal to one unit of exposure; it is equal to halving or doubling an exposure.
1/60 of a second allows twice as much light to reach the sensor as 1/125 of a second - this is one stop. Going from 1/125 to 1/60 is opening up one stop.
1/500 of a second allows half as much light to reach the sensor as 1/250 of a second - this is one stop. Going from 1/250to 1/500 is stopping down one stop.
f/5.6 allows twice as much light to enter the camera as f/8 - this is one stop. Going from f/8 to f/5.6 is opening up one stop.
f/16 allows half as much light to enter the camera as f/11 - this is one stop. Going from f/11 to f/16 is stopping down one stop.
Opening up one stop will double the amount of light reaching the sensor.
Stopping down one stop will halve the amount of light reaching the sensor.Law of Reciprocity
Exposure = Intensity * Time
Recall that aperture controls the intensity of light and shutter speed controls the duration of the exposure.Let's say that f/16 * 1/250 gives you a correct exposure. Any change in aperture or shutter speed will give you an incorrect exposure. If you change the aperture to f/11 and keep the shutter at /125, then the resulting image will be overexposed by one stop. The Law of Reciprocity says you need to reciprocate by changing the shutter speed to 1/500 (one stop) to compensate. Remember that going from f/16 to f/11 you are opening up one stop (more light), so you need to go from stop down from 1/250 to 1/500 (one stop). This will maintain the balance and keep the correct exposure.
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So let's say I'm getting a correct exposure at f/4 * 1/125 (remember, the table and your camera will show this as just 125, without the 1/___).
What would my aperture be if I wanted to open up two stops? And what shutter speed would I need to use to compensate for this change in aperture while maintaining a correct exposure?
Is this just me?
Am I the only one that's like this? I have a plan to save up for something, then I finally have enough money for what I planned to get.. But now I don't know if I really want it anymore..
It's like when you don't have money, you see ALL the things that you "need" but when you have the money, it ends up not being that important and you feel you could do without it, or can even talk yourself out of it all together..
Or am I just getting old?
Nissan/Infiniti and More Car Show
I attended the Nissan/Infiniti and More car show in Allen this weekend. Nissan of McKinney put on the event outside the Allen Convention Center on Stacy Road. There was also a CFL Hockey game going on that night after the car show that most people attended due to getting a free ticket when you showed your vehicle. A few other G35 drivers showed up to support Chris including R1Forever80, with his custom Wald kit and Dual Projector Headlights (top from an s2000, bottom from an FX35). Heat also showed up in her G37 Coupe.. Gorgeous Ride. I mainly went to get a few captures and support a friend of mine, Chris Black. He's another Inifiniti G35 Enthusiast. He was rocking Custom Clear Corners, color matched projector headlights and side markers, and Karuma Z front. He ended up winning the Best Infiniti Class.. Congrats Chris..
A lot of 370 Zs showed up at the event, and everyone later migrated to the GTR that was brought from the dealership. Some American cars also came to the event as well (Mustang won Best in Show).
Check out some pics from the event..
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Exif Info
Canon 20D
Canon 430 EX II
ISO 200
Canon 18-55mm
“Professionals” Beware!!!
I saw this clip and it got me thinking.. I see a LOT of people with Digital SLRs now days and quite a few of them professing to be professional photographers. I also see a lot of true professionals angered by this growing phenomenon of increased pixel, entry level, DSLRs. People, especially at children's sporting events, with DSLR in hand just shooting aimlessly (on auto mode mind you) and thinking they're capturing better shots than the hired professional there to cover the event. Since they're possibly using the same equipment (however, in most cases, not) they feel justified to GIVE pictures away to the other people at the event, or put them on photobucket for free, thus blackballing the professional photographer trying to make a living.
All of the education, all of the experience, learning proper exposure, composition, off camera or external flash, what lens is proper for what situation, actually KNOWING how to use your camera and price of equipment is worth the amount of money you spend for a shoot, or single print.
I'm sure a lot of people have a few wrenches and can go buy oil at walmart (which is a LOT less expensive than camera equipment), but I don't see everyone changing their own oil. You are willing to pay for a service that requires a lot less skill than pay a professional for something as important as properly capturing once in a lifetime events?
I've been shooting for going on 12 years now. Through my career as a photographer, I've shot many different subjects, made some money, been published (local papers, and a book). I've covered professional and amateur events as well. The one thing I absolutely REFUSE to do, is a wedding (I've shot one for a very close personal friend).
What happened in the below clip is but one reason of why I would lose so much sleep shooting someone's special, once in a lifetime event. Photography is so subjective that if someone feels they don't look their best, or you didn't capture them the way they wanted to be portrayed, whether you get sued or not, you have an unhappy client. Shooting a wedding just exacerbates that subjectivity exponentially.
What these "photographers" did in this clip is a perfect example of someone that purchased an entry level Digital SLR and thought they could market themselves as a "professional". Your basic "hustle". What they DIDN'T know was that the woman was savvy enough to sue when she wasn't pleased with the result. The client was duped into thinking she was going to get professional quality, but knew what she received was far less than that. What the "photographers" also didn't know was that the judge was a published photographer himself, and when they were required to give specific EXIF information about the shots, or tell the aperture used on the exposures, or why didn't they use faster glass or more professional bodies over their entry level equipment, their answer was the normal amateur answer. "I don't know"..
I post this as a warning to those "weekend warriors" that have bought their first DSLR and think they inherit the PROFESSIONAL moniker. If you market yourself as a professional, and take a paid photography job, please realize that you could have an unhappy client and they could quite possibly sue you. Also realize, that you could be questioned in court by a judge who happens to be a published photographer himself. I would hope you could plead your case better than this.
Mystique Gets a New Exhaust
One of the more common mods for a vehicle is an exhaust. The purpose is to not only give you that nice rumbling sound, but to also open up the exhaust system to escape more air. The automotive engine in it's simplest form is an air pump. The intake pulls air into the plenum which is where the air collects until it is thrown to the cylinders. The cylinders, (6, if you have a 6 cylinder, 4 if you have a 4 cylinder, etc) then pressurizes the air and gasoline mix and combustion occurs.
The more air (to an engine's maximum efficiency) that your engine can bring in, the more powerful the otto cycle is. Once that air/gas mixture is ignited, it must escape somehow. That is where your exhaust comes in. The first part of your exhaust leading from your engine block is the downpipe, then the Catalytic Converters. The "cats" as they're often called are the most restrictive part of your exhaust in most cases. The diameter of the pipes is small, they're normally bent, and there are filters in these pipes because the main purpose of the cats are to filter polution from the exhaust.
I have replaced my stock cats with Berk Technologies High Flow Cats. The next part of the exhaust on the G35 Coupe is the stock Y pipe. It's given this name because it's, as you've probably guessed, in the shape of a Y. Then following that is the Midpipe. This connects the Y pipe to the mufflers and tail pipe. By increasing the diameter of pipes in the exhaust system, you can potentially increase horsepower and torque as well if backpressure is increased or maintained.
Illustration of the Otto Cycle
Here's how my car sounds with a JWT Pop Charger, 350Z Intake Tube, 1/2" Motordyne Plenum Spacer, Berk Technologies High Flow Cats, and Fujitsubo Legalis-R Exhaust.
Drone G35 Sedan Night Shoot
When I received the text at 8pm on Saturday night from my friend Mark Stefanski, asking me what I was doing, I never expected him to ask me to shoot his car.
I expressed the desire to shoot his car after seeing his 6 Speed Manual Transmission, G35 sedan with its accentuated front lip, uniquely painted gold, coupe 19" Forged rims, expertly painted black grill and gold Mt Fuji emblem. The roof is custom painted black (by him of course) as are the tops of the rear tails to give it that sleek look in the rear capped off by a Top Speed exhaust system. The car is supported by an Eibach Sportline spring suspension.
The next task was to find a location that would accentuate his color and smooth lines. I thought a garage would be excellent with it's similar, yet high contrast tones and rough texture. Also, what better way to show the G's beautiful curves than by putting it in a predominantly square area?
With a little bit of creativity, and some off camera flashes, this is what I captured.. My aim was to capture how unique his build is. You normally don't see such an aggressive build on a coupe, nor these colors mixed together. While unique, I think it makes sense, and he successfully pulled it together nicely. Let me know what you think...
Shot with a Canon 7D
Canon 18-55 F3.5-5.6
Some shots mounted with a Canon 430EX II flash
Some Shots w/ 2 off camera flashes (Canon 430EX II & Canon 550EX)
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DIY Audi-Style Day Time Running Lights LED Install
I normally drive with my lights on all the time. Unfortunately I have a G35 coupe that is unequipped with daytime running lights. One of the ONLY things I didn't like about this car, UNTIL NOW. I found on iJDMtoy.com the Audi-Style LED Daytime Running LED light strips.
I figured this is something that I've never done before, so there has to be others that have never installed these either. Maybe this DIY could help others in the future. I have never done any lighting modifications or automotive electrical work on my own before, so experience is not in my favor.
So let's get on with it... (This is going to be a little G35-centric since that's the car I'm doing this on. You may have to find another light to splice into if your side markers blink. You do NOT want to splice the DRLs into lights that blink on and off)
1. Gather materials - You will need either wire cutters, or a paring knife to retract the wire covering. I felt more in control with a paring knife. I also used a flash light, and straightened a wire hanger for this project. Electrical tape is also used.
2. Remove the side marker light from the front bumper and detach the bulb housing from the plastic light fixture. This will provide you the opening necessary to feed your LED wire through to be close to your side marker light bulb. Let the bulb hang in place while you are working.
3. Determine where you want to place your LED strips in the lower vents of your front bumper. Make sure you have enough room to place the LEDs flat against the surface you plan to adhere them to. The LEDs are able to be cut, but I didn't cut mine I used all 15 LEDs on the strip.
4. Feed the wire through the lower bumper up to the main side marker hole ( in the center, where the light bulb rests). Make sure you're not feeding the wire through the smaller clip holes on the sides of the larger light bulb opening. I used the straightened wire hanger and created a loop at the end. I fed the hanger through the center hole of where the side marker fits into my front bumper all the way down to my lower bumper. I slid the LED wire into the loop of the hanger, and then pulled the hanger back out of the center hole slowly, thus feeding the wire to me. Let the LED wire hang through that hole.
5. Using the paring knife, strip approximately .5"(in) of wire covering from the red and black wires that connect the side marker light bulb. Go all the way around, exposing the copper wire below. BE CAREFUL, if you cut through this copper wire, your side markers will not work.
6. Using the wire cutters, expose the silver and copper wires of the clear LED cables by stripping approximately 1" of wire from the ends of both wires. You will notice one of the wires is silver, and one is copper even before stripping the wires.
7. Turn on your car lights (not your car). Test that your LEDs work by touching the SILVER wire of the LEDs to the RED wire of the light bulb, and the COPPER wire of the LEDs to the BLACK wire of the light bulb. The LEDS should turn on instantly, and all 3 lights should be on (headlights, side marker bulb and LEDs). If this is the case, proceed. If your lights don't turn on, you could possibly have not stripped enough plastic covering off of the light bulb wires. Ensure that you are touching the wire and not the plastic covering. If you still have problems, you could have a defective strip of LEDs. Use the other strip of LEDs to test.
8. Once you have determined your LEDs work, TURN THE LIGHTS OFF. Then wrap the exposed wire of the LEDs around the corresponding (refer to step 7) color of the light bulb wires. Make sure you wrap as much of the exposed LED wire all the way around the bulb wire. When you are complete the LED plastic coating should be close to the exposed bulb wire.
9. Test your lights again to ensure your lights still turn on. Headlights, side marker bulb, and LEDs should all be on at this point.
10. If your lights still turn on, CONGRATS!!! Now TURN THEM OFF!!! You are ready to tape the LED wire to the light bulb wire. Using small strips of black electrical tape, (I cut about 2" of tape from the roll, and then using the paring knife, split that in half) wrap the half strip around each paired LED wire and bulb wire adhering them together. Once this is done, the electrical work is complete.
11. Gently replace the light bulb fixture back into the side marker housing and attach the housing back to the front bumper, taking care to feed the light bulb housing and new LED wires into the main light bulb hole. You should press until you hear both sides click into place.
12. Now you are ready to remove the adhesive from the rear of the LED strip, and place your LEDs on the pre-determined flat surface of your lower bumper. I adhered mine to the lower mesh of my K2 bumper.
Now simply repeat for the other side. (starting at step 2)
I was very pleased by the simplicity of this install having never done electrical before. As I said before, hopefully reading this will give others the confidence to try this install and bond with their car. I definitely got a sense of satisfaction once I saw the finished product. This was also the first install my 5 year old son got to help me with.. He held the flashlight for me the whole time and was my "light tester". He was amazed at the finished product as well and now thinks I'm a master mechanic.
Let me know by commenting if this was a helpful DIY, if you have questions, please comment and I'll respond as promptly as possible.
Here are some finished images snapped right after install..
Photo Challenge Week 1 (G35Driver.com) – Bottle(s)
The theme for the week of the G35Driver.com weekly photo challenge was Bottle(s). I decided to take this opportunity to really think out what image I wanted to portray. What size bottle? Color? Shape? A bottle can be simple and elegant, colorful and elaborate.. Did I want to capture more functionality or art?
Well of course I had plenty of questions in my head but then it came to me. I wanted to take a commercial shot. Like really try and make it look like it was for a magazine spread. I even took the time to make a product box. This gave me the opportunity to really experiment with my flashes off camera.
After tampering with the flashes position, I finally settled on a traditional 1 flash highlighting the background, and my main flash overhead to highlight the product. This gave me that really clean, high-pass, vibrant look that I was after.
I placed the subject to the left of the frame as if it were going to have typography on the right side of the "ad". I also added a bit of allure and mood by splashing some water on the bottle and letting it pool at the foot of the bottle. This was added to give the viewer someting interesting to think about througout the journey down the bottle. The reflection was due to plastic laid down at the bottom of the product box.
I'd say for my first product box shot, this turned out pretty well and exactly how I intended..
Canon 7D
Tamron 28-75
ISO200
F10
50mm
1/200
canon 430EX II (1/8)
canon 550EX (1/4)
onboard flash (-1) exposure comp
Photo Challenge 1 Entry (16Niss)- Hotness
I was invited to participate in a photo challenge on the 16NiSS.com website this week and the theme was "Hotness". Since I've been experimenting with my Hulk action figures and off camera flash, I decided to use them again for this theme as well. I created a composite of the Hulks fighting and also took a long exposure(10 seconds) of one of my stove burners and focus layered to get the most detail in the fire... This was my entry for "HOTNESS"..
Let me know what you guys think..
People Are Naturally Evil.. I Think So At Least…
I was conversing with a friend of mine earlier this week, and he asked me, "Do you think people are naturally evil?" Before even thinking, I told him "Yes." Now before you think I'm saying everyone is a product of Satan or something, or think I'm the largest pessimist there is, hear my logic first..
I start in that proverbial "sandbox" that we all allude to when talking about "blank" or "unbiased" children. Well, in that sandbox, you'll find raw human instinct and emotion, not driven by morals or values or anything else that must be taught.
If I take any 2 children in that sandbox and only have 1 toy between them, you'll see several different things. You'll see anger, possessiveness, might even see violence. By any morals and values that we've been taught, whether religious based or not, aren't those characteristics considered "evil" or not acceptable? If you were an adult in a work environment, and someone came up to you and took your keyboard off your desk, and you slapped the fire out of them, wouldn't you be thought of as "Hey, don't mess with him, that's the evil guy..." We're expected to "know better" right? Well the only reason we know better is because we're TAUGHT to know better, taught to coexist or ignore our natural "human" instincts. I placed quotes around human because there's no such thing in my mind as "human" instincts; that's an oxymoron. Instincts themselves are animalistic in nature. Instincts by definition are:
Instinct -An inborn pattern of behavior that is characteristic of a species and is often a response to specific environmental stimuli
So, by that definition, if we have to be TAUGHT to become good, then instinctually, or naturally, we're evil right? Can't be both.
The things that make us socially acceptible, able to coexist, and separate us as humans, are those morals and values. Or could it be simply fear of the reprecussions if we don't "play nice." If we aren't defined by our morals and values then we're just the same as animals. That's how we treat those social outcasts in our society, we throw them in cages just like animals in the zoo. We like to that we've effectively changed our chemical makeup or something or that we're "above" primative behavior. I personally think those same human emotions from the sandbox are still there, we're just taught to repress them and not act on our instincts. However, if you put any human in an environment where survival becomes the number one priority, impersonating or attuning ourselves to our animal instincts might be the only thing that can save our lives.
So, now that I've had a chance to think about the answer, "YES, I STILL think people are naturally "evil/animal", I just think we "play nice" so we're not socially repugnant."
What do you think?